An Introduction to the Pink Collection (35 page)

“I thought you despised me,” she said.

“I turned away from you because you threatened the iron prison in which I had enclosed myself. I told myself you were only a child – which was true, but not my real reason. The real reason was that I rejected the gifts of life and joy that you carried with you. I was afraid of them.

“But I never forgot you. In the years since, your spinning figure has haunted my dreams and danced across my vision, never allowing me to forget that I had chosen a terrible path; that there was another path, if only I dared take it.

“And then, one day, you returned, grown up, glorious, majestic, asking my help.

“But by that time I was in no state to appreciate you. If you hadn't come into my life when you did, it would soon have been all up with me.

“And yet you seemed to resent me, and be angry with me.

“I fought you. You'll never know how hard I fought you. I didn't want the warmth and life you brought with you. I'd lived so long away from them that they were too much for me.

“And yet, while I fought you with one hand I tightened my grip on you with the other. I put bolts and bars on our engagement, anything to keep you with me – and all the time I told myself that it was revenge on Stanislaus that motivated me. Nothing else. But the truth was I was daily falling more and more in love with you.

“I didn't want to admit it to myself, but in my heart I knew. And then, when I thought I was going to die, I knew I had to speak to you, to tell you that I loved you, and wanted your love.”

His eyes held hers. She felt they were saying something to her she did not understand, something more than his lips spoke.

Then he said very quietly,

“I love you. I have loved you for a long time. I am only afraid that I might lose you.”

The words seemed to come slowly from his lips.

But his hand tightened and somehow she found herself bending nearer to him until his lips touched hers.

She loved him as she had never loved anyone before.

“I love you! I love you!” he said.

Then once again his lips were holding hers captive.

She thought it was the most wonderful and the most glorious thing she had ever known.

“I love you! I love you!” she wanted to say, but it was impossible to speak when the Marquis's lips were against hers.

Both his arms went round her to hold her closer still.

It seemed a long time later that Lavina found herself lying on the bed beside him. Her head was on his shoulder.

“Tell me that you love me,” he begged.

“I love you!” Lavina whispered. “It is so wonderful that I can't find words to express it.”

“All I want,” the Marquis said, “are your lips. Kiss me again and I will know I am not dreaming and that this is real.”

She kissed him again, gently and tenderly, so as not to disturb his wound.

“How soon can we be married?” he asked.

“Do you really want to marry me?” Lavina asked.

“I am going to make certain that you belong to me, and I never lose you,” he said. “You are mine and you must swear to me, on everything you hold sacred, you will never leave me.”

“I promise I will never do that,” Lavina replied. “I think I first loved you when I heard you playing the piano, and the music seemed to whisper of the love which I had never known, and never felt until I met you.”

“I always knew that you were different from any woman I had met before,” he mused, “but I was desperately afraid of frightening you, and making you and your father have no further use for me once we reached Scotland.”

“Even when I thought I was annoyed with you, you were in my heart. You were so different from any other man I had ever met.”

“And every man you will meet in the future,” he said softly. “You are my darling, and I will never let you look at another man.”

“I'll never want to do that. I want to be with you, to be close to you and for you to love me, just as the music told me about love. That is how I feel at the moment.”

“I have a great deal more than music to tell you about,” the Marquis said. “You are everything I ever wanted and ever longed for in a woman. I swear to you, my darling, I will do everything to make you happy!”

“And I will make you happy,” she promised him, “so that you will forget the years of sadness. There are so many wonderful things we can do together.”

“I love you, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet,” he said. “I shall love you until the time comes for my life to end.”

“On that day,” Lavina said, “my life too will be over. I want nothing in the world but you.”

She was unable to say any more because the Marquis's lips were on hers. She felt as he kissed her as if they were both flying up into the sky to be blessed by God.

She knew, in her mind and in her heart, that she had found love. And that she would be true to that love forever more.

The Barbara Cartland Pink collection is available for download at the following online bookshops :-

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- epub format

ebookstore.sony.com
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www.amazon.co.uk
- For UK Kindle users

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